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A good education is invaluable, but that doesn't mean it should be high-priced. We offer one of America's best educational values, and students who qualify can receive scholarships and awards ranging from $300 to full tuition. See if you qualify.
Our students come from across the U.S. and around the world. Don't take it from us, hear what they have to say in their own words.

subset: commoncrawl


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Men who guard the president of the united states.
they will take a bullet to the head for the president.
by Cali OG January 06, 2005
When taking a female from behind, you pull out and spit on her back, then as she looks back you ejaculate in her ear causing her to put her hand up to her ear like a secret service agent covering his earpiece.
He gave her the secret service
by Justin G May 12, 2004
While having anal sex with a woman, when your about to come, you pull out and spit on her back; when she turns around you jizz in her ear and jack her in the face, causing her to cover her ear and mouth like a secret service agent would.
Holy shit! He gave that trick the Secret Service!
by Murph Durph February 27, 2006
A gentleman's social club of which the members make it their life goal to tantrically masturbate in public.
I stood still for a moment, taking in his suddenly heavy breathing, his movements and the wild look in his eyes. A member of the Secret Service had infiltrated my bathroom
by Kip Stevens December 17, 2003
When a girl dives upon your premature ejaculation to avoid it hitting her sheets. For extended fun, angle the load towards her ear so it resembles a secret service ear piece.
Dude, I was just about to pre-jac and then she dove like the Secret Service and took one for her country.


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Contact UPMC at1-800-533-UPMC (8762).
Go to Find a Doctor to search for a UPMC doctor.
PITTSBURGH, May 29, 2012 – Be careful not to rely on what adolescent athletes tell you about their recovery from concussions as the sole criterion for making return-to-play decisions, researchers from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh warn sports medicine practitioners.
In findings published online in the inaugural issue of Applied Neuropsychology: Child, researchers found that young athletes neglect the more subtle symptoms — neuropsychiatric and sleep issues — and base their perceptions of their recovery primarily on physical (somatic) symptoms such as headache and nausea.
Results indicate that when athletes gauge their own readiness to return-to-play, their physical symptoms account for 56 percent of their self-assessment, whereas their performance on objective neurocognitive testing only accounts for 28 percent. While the statistical analyses revealed that they judged their recovery on somatic and cognitive symptoms almost twice as strongly as neurocognitive testing, the sleep and neuropsychiatric symptoms ranked ahead of their performance on the objective test data by only a few percentage points.
"Our findings suggest that young athletes may not perceive their cognitive deficits as well as they perceive their somatic symptoms," said Anthony Kontos, Ph.D., assistant research director with the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine Concussion Program. "Therefore, it is important to assess their cognitive deficits using neurocognitive concussion tests and a comprehensive clinical evaluation."
"These research results affirm what we see daily in our clinical experience," said Michael "Micky" Collins, Ph.D., the Concussion Program's executive and clinical director. "Athletes have a hard time understanding the cryptic nature of this injury, and relying only on self-assessment of symptoms is dangerous and naïve when it comes to allowing athletes back to play after a brain injury. Objective assessment through the use of computerized neurocognitive testing and a thorough evaluation are critical components of concussion management and return-to-play considerations."
The research team studied 101 concussed athletes (62 males, 39 females) ages 12 to 18, who were evaluated by clinicians at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine Concussion Program. They asked athletes to rate their "percent back to normal." They compared those numbers against the ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) battery and somatic, cognitive, sleep and neuropsychiatric symptom clusters to find significant correlations. In short, the athletes' judgment was based on a small subset of the factors evaluated in concussion care.
Males in the study tended to feel more "recovered" from their concussions than females, suggesting females may experience more severe post-concussion symptoms than males, or males under-report their symptoms. Such gender differences merit more study, researchers concluded.
In addition to Drs. Kontos and Collins, the research team consisted of lead author Natalie Sandel, B.S., of the Department of Neuroscience, Pitt's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences; Mark Lovell, Ph.D., then with the Pitt Department of Orthopaedic Surgery; and Nathan Kegel, Ph.D., of the Concussion Program.
Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit www.healthwise.org
For help in finding a doctor or health service that suits your needs, call the UPMC Referral Service at 412-647-UPMC (8762) or 1-800-533-UPMC (8762). Select option 1.
UPMC is an equal opportunity employer. UPMC policy prohibits discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected group status. Further, UPMC will continue to support and promote equal employment opportunity, human dignity, and racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity. This policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in UPMC programs and activities. This commitment is made by UPMC in accordance with federal, state, and/or local laws and regulations.
Medical information made available on UPMC.com is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not rely entirely on this information for your health care needs. Ask your own doctor or health care provider any specific medical questions that you have. Further, UPMC.com is not a tool to be used in the case of an emergency. If an emergency arises, you should seek appropriate emergency medical services.
Pittsburgh, PA, USA | UPMC.com


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Reading the forum on your cell phone? There's an easier way. We've enabled a Tapatalk app that makes browsing the forum a whole lot easier. Check it out in the iPhone or Android store if you don't own it already.
What do you need in your bag of trick to go over the overhang?
QuoteWhat do you need in your bag of trick to go over the overhang?confidence
Magic 8 ball?
When doing 1st ascents, this situation is pretty typical,---has been for generations.Remember that old saying, "( when in doubt-run it out)".
Quote from: SA on March 13, 2013, 04:01:25 pmWhen doing 1st ascents, this situation is pretty typical,---has been for generations.Remember that old saying, "( when in doubt-run it out)".In that particular route, I remember that I had anticipated the movement and went to a rest...it was a 5.9 move rest (not good at all) and I had to anticipate the next movement. It was an hand crack in the overhang where you switch your feet from the left to the right, grab the corner and layback, if my memories was good. So much fun...as a first ascent. yep! I agree with run it out, and it takes balls to do that, but there is a time when you had to decide that run it out is too dangerous? or you decide to solo the route. I used the fall factor and I evaluated the distance of my fall, or I take a look higher and come back to my stance to rest. How do you decide when it is time to run out or solo the move? I don't like "confidence". It is too subjective for me. You are confident in a 5.11 because there is a bolt, but I saw a guy who can't climb wedge, 5.6, at whitehorse ledge because it was too run out...and wet also...that particular day. I saw a guy in slab direct (5.7) that fall on the firs move and he was a climber of 5.11 too. I don't know about you, but don't you think that the word confidence is too subjective?
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My Intro
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My Intro
Hello, My name is Laurie, I am 31 years old and I live in the Hudson Valley of NY. I work with the developmentally disabled population as a Behavior Specialist. I currently own 5 wonderful sugar gliders who are the loves of my life and I have a wonderful boyfriend of 4 years. Ian and I have very different work scheduled (I'm off on the weekends and he works EVERY weekend, so I am often home alone; as at this age, my friends all have husbands and kids or have moved away for job opportunities, ect. For the longest time I've been wanting a dog and my boyfriend keeps saying NO (even though I own the townhome we live in). But I am trying to be respectiveful of his wishes. Finally 2 weeks ago I was saying that I would be so much happier if I had a dog for a companion. He actually said that if this would make me happy, we could get one! Of course I rushed that next day to the shelter and started looking at all the dogs. 2 dogs caught my eye. One was a Shiba Inu. I loved how she looked like a little fox. She was sweet, BUT very aloof. She didn't pay much mind to me (as they are very independent dogs and are hard to train). The other one was Graham. He was a rednosed pitbull with the sweetest demeanor. He was the one for me! The home visit went well & we brought him home on 9/30/13. He is about 7 years old. We LOVE him. I never owned a pit bull before. For me, it had nothing to do with the breed of dog, it had everything to do with THE DOG. He was simply the dog for us!
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Wowzers- Chickity Check Out Maritime Gloucester's New Website!
Very Clean and informative. If you haven't seen it in a while, it's worth a look-
FEBRUARY — A Love Affair with Gloucester Harbor
The return of our popular winter programs begins with the theme: " A Love Affair with Gloucester Harbor and Cape Ann". The first three events are:
February 7th: "Sea Monsters of Gloucester Harbor and Cape Ann: A Diver Tells All", presented by Phil Colarusso, Ph.D.
Through pictures, video and narrative, Phil describes what is going on beneath the surface.
February 14th: "A Valentine's Day Party for Stubby the Cat"
A Special Fun Event from 5:00-6:00 for Stubby and anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting this independent Harbor Loop cat. Stay tuned for more details.
February 21st: "The Marine Invasion Will Not Be Televised! Changes in the Harbor", presented by Judith Pederson, Ph.D. MIT Sea Grant
Judy will share results from the 2012 Rapid Assessment Survey of Gloucester Harbor for Marine Invasives and Native Species.
Watch here or check our website or Facebook page for more details about our winter programs and lectures.
All programs are free and open to the public. Seating is limited and we recommend early arrival.
When & Where
Thursdays, 7:00 PM, unless otherwise noted
Gorton's Gallery
Maritime Gloucester
23 Harbor Loop
Gloucester, Massachusetts


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Basic Cable: Choosing the Right Cables for Your System
Many people spend a lot of time selecting their gear with barely a thought to how they're going to hook everything up - until it's unpacked in the living room. In a modern A/V system, however, making the right connections can have a big effect on what you see and hear.
That doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune on cables. But you can do yourself a real favor by figuring out which types of audio and video connections are optimal for the equipment in your system and ensuring that the cables you use to make those connections are well-constructed and have the proper electrical characteristics. This can buy you not only visual and sonic improvements but also the peace of mind that comes with not having to troubleshoot annoying buzzes, hums, or flat-out signal failures.
Cable Fundamentals Aside from speaker wires, which are normally simple insulated (but unshielded) pairs of copper conductors, there are three types of cables: twisted-pair, coaxial, and fiber-optic. Both twisted-pair and coaxial cables carry signals along copper wires, while fiber-optic cables carry signals modulated as pulses of light along strands of glass or transparent plastic. Twisted-pair cables, used mainly in phone networks and Ethernet connections, have pairs of independently insulated wires twisted around each other, which helps fend off noise from adjacent wires (crosstalk) as well as outside electrical interference. Coaxial cables have a core wire (called the conductor) surrounded by an insulating material (called the dielectric), plus a layer of electrical shielding and a plastic or nylon outer jacket. Fiber-optic cables consist of a glass- or plastic-fiber core, cladding (which helps keep the light pulses within the fibers), and an external jacket.
Twisted pair - used in Cat-5e cables, for instance - is relatively inexpensive and easy to install, but it's susceptible to electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference (EMI and RFI, respectively). Coax can support a wider frequency range and has better shielding against interference, but it can still pick up EMI or RFI in difficult environments or induced hum from nearby power cables. Fiber-optic cable has great bandwidth and is completely immune to EMI and induced hum, but it's costlier and more fragile.


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This site contains basic biological information regarding Trichinella spiralis, and includes research findings on all aspects of the parenteral phase of the infection. Much of the information is based on publications by Dickson Despommier and colleagues over the last 30 years, that mostly dealt with Nurse cell formation and its relationship to angiogenesis and collagen capsule formation. In addition, a brief history of its discovery, clinical aspects, and useful links to other sites dealing with the genus Trichinella are provided. This site is dedicated to all those colleagues of mine who worked in my laboratory, without whose creative input, none of the information contained herein would have been discovered. A special thanks goes to Virginia Capó, Allen Gold, and Ramona Polvere.
Added Trichinella In Romania under Articles of Interest
Added Articles of Interest page and posted an article on Trichinella speciation.
Added an outbreak report from Germany: Summary of Trichinellosis Outbreaks
Added an outbreak report from Russia: Summary of Trichinellosis Outbreaks
The content of this site is maintained by
Dickson Despommier, Ph.D. and Vincent R. Racaniello
Columbia University


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Matchmaker.com is your source to meeting attractive Brunswick Women. Single and available Brunswick girls are just a few clicks away. Matchmaker has hottest Brunswick women on the Internet from young Brunswick girls available looking for dates to maybe visit the Brunswick nightlife or one of the top Brunswick restaurants. Find Brunswick single women and meet Brunswick single girls, sexy single women, Brunswick women who are looking for a date through our trusted Brunswick matchmaking site. We have thousands of Brunswick babes to female models to classy mature ladies also know as sexy Brunswick cougars looking for toy boys. If you are looking for a wife for a happy marriage, serious girlfriend, or friend, create a free dating profile today.
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Whether you are looking for a few fun nights out to a Brunswick night clubs with hot Brunswick girls on the town or a long term relationship, keep things fun and light for now. If you seem too serious in an introductory email, it can scare her off. The thrilling part of matchmaking online dating is that it takes the impersonal and gives it real potential. Meeting Brunswick women for online can be easy. Two strangers who sending each other letters through their computers might actually meet in person, start dating and end up in a real relationship!


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My husband and I are on vacation for the rest of this week-- well, we are on a "stay-cation". My husband deserves extra T.L.C. and pampering, because he is going to replace the radiator on my Jeep. That will save us hundreds of dollars in repair bills. I tell my hubby that women find Mr. Fix-It's to be sexy. He thinks that's silly, but c'mon, ladies... isn't it wonderful when your husband can fix almost anything? I'm so blessed!
My plans, to show my appreciation, are to make his favorite meals. My first inspiration came to me, when I picked up my box of fresh, organic vegetables from my local co-op (www.carmelvalleycoop.org). Every other week, I pick up a box of locally grown vegetables. Last time, I received a beautiful bottle of extra-virgin olive oil-- that I used to make a fantastic balsamic vinaigrette.
What is a C.S.A. box? "Community Supported Agriculture Box". It's a wonderful way to support your local grower, and to feed your family with organic, sustainable products.
This week, I found a really special (and unexpected) treasure-- fresh, fertile and free-range eggs. I was on a waiting list for fresh eggs, since they are very limited. I got so excited, that you might have thought I'd found money!
I cannot think of a time I've eaten a green egg (except for the time I stored an Easter egg for weeks, and then tricked my older brother into eating it). These beauties deserved to be enjoyed to their fullest.
My German heritage kicked into full gear. Some of my fondest memories of visiting Bavaria are the traditional bed & breakfast meals of soft boiled eggs. I absolutely adore eating my eggs soft boiled, but they must be served in an egg cup.
I love kitchen gadgets, and I use them. One of my often-used gadgets is a Salton Egg Poacher, that I bought many years ago, to cook my soft boiled eggs. I love it!
I also have a gadget to cut the tops off my soft boiled eggs-- no more tapping the top of the egg and peeling it. This wonderful gadget, cuts the top of the egg in one firm blow. It's from Zyliss and it's called an "egg topper".To make this breakfast special, I decided to remove (from a display case) an Italian porcelain breakfast setting that my mother gave to me, many years ago. My mother was a very sentimental person, who enjoyed pretty things. I've inherited an appreciation of her fine things, because they have been stored in my home since she passed away in 2003.
I saved her hand-written note that was tucked inside the porcelain jam jar that said "Breakfast for Two". Perfect! I've never used this table setting, and it's high time that I do exactly that:
My 20-year old son is at work. Husband and I enjoyed a quiet breakfast together. He has learned to appreciate the way I serve soft boiled eggs as much as I do.
The yolks were a beautiful deep yellow color. According to the newsletter that came with my eggs:
"...another plus is the renewed growth of the grasses and wildflowers. This is a bonus not only for the chickens-- they love the tender greens-- but for us: you will notice that the yolks are bright yellow."
I have two more eggs left. I also have Swiss chard, cauliflower, red cabbage, sugar snap peas and broccoli that is waiting for me to decide how to enjoy them. Time to surf the food blogs-- but, first... time to jump into my bathing suit. The sun is out, and I've got a lap pool waiting for me.
What a wonderful way to enjoy Spring!
More signs of Spring... our wisteria buds three weeks ago...
Just this week, they are blooming!
Three weeks ago, our rose bushes were budding...
This week, they are showing signs of opening into beautiful rose flowers. I love roses!
As a little "teaser", my tree rose gave me one flower that I didn't notice for a couple of days.
Life is good.


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It was a Valentine's Day show, so of course Syd Straw began her performance at City Winery Thursday with a pair of songs about death. "Unraveling," written for her father while he was dying of lung cancer, found Straw calling out to heaven as she strummed jangling guitar chords, and "About to Forget" had her contemplating her dog's demise.
While far from romantic, the songs set the tone of deeply felt emotion that ran throughout Straw's "heartwreck" show, which the idiosyncratic singer has been performing for more than a decade.
That tradition provided a welcome occasion for a rare local appearance by the cult heroine, who lives in rural Vermont. Straw received attention in the 1980s for her work with the Golden Palominos, an indie rock super group that occasionally included the likes of Michael Stipe and Matthew Sweet, and her subsequent solo debut record, but since then her records and Chicago concerts have been exceedingly few and far between.
In the past, Straw has filled her heartwreck shows with covers of other musicians' songs, but for the most part she drew on her own work for this concert, playing her 2008 (and most recent) record "Pink Velour" almost in its entirety.
Straw sang winding melodies in a sensual, breathy alto, filling songs with turtledove coos and pealing cries. A self-described "method singer" who's dabbled in acting, she added a theatrical quality to her delivery as she contorted her long, expressive features on her songs, particularly the jaunty art-pop of "Sphinx."
A four-piece band accompanied Straw with shimmering 12-string and electric guitar and gently rumbling rhythms. The music mined a late-60s country-rock vein indebted to Neil Young, whose "Harvest" Straw performed as an encore, joined by opening act Freedy Johnston.
The songs recounted various pains of the heart, from family drama ("Pink Velour") to career blues ("Actress") to love gone bad ("Storm Warning"). Straw leavened the ache with her clever wit, which carried over from her lyrics to her characteristically outlandish stage patter.
"If he's the best man, why am I marrying you," Straw sang at one point, but on the same song she added "I've had the thorn, I want the rose," hanging on to a hope that had survived all the heartwrecks.


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New Year Fab! 5 Easy Beauty Tips To Try In 2013
We're all about finding new tips and tricks to keep our hair and makeup on point and in 2012, we had a little help thanks to social media fave Pinterest. Our fellow pinners took to their beauty boards and shared some never-before-seen advice for StyleBlazers across the globe to try right at home.
From DIY makeup brush cleaners to manicures-made-easy, here are our top five tried and true lessons learned on Pinterest to bring into the New Year and beyond!
We generally try to clean our makeup brushes at least twice a month and while cosmetic companies make some great brush cleansers, a free alternative is always our preference! This simple solution had the makeup residue practically vanishing from our brushes, instantly making them squeaky clean yet keeping the bristles amazingly smooth.
Our tip: Ease up on the olive oil—oil and powder makeup is never a good combo!
Check out more new beauty tips on StyleBlazer.com.


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The best way to keep up to date with Wealdstone Youth FC
No match report has been published for this fixture yet.
Wealdstone Football Club Grosvenor Vale Ruislip Middlesex HA4 6JQ View with Google Maps
This website is part of the Pitchero Football network. Create your own free Football club website with Pitchero.
© Pitch Hero Ltd 2008-2018


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Check Out This Crazy Aether Wing Kayle Cosplay From Elmins Cosplay
Find more impressive League of Legends cosplay from Elmins Cosplay on their facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElminsCosplay/
Find more impressive League of Legends cosplay from Elmins Cosplay on their facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElminsCosplay/
Some of the biggest names in League of Legends' Oceanic Pro League talk about how you can make it to the top of the ladder in Australia.
Keiji Inafune takes responsibility for Mighty No. 9, Sony class action suit settles, Clash of Clans dev bought for 8.6 billion, and ... BINGO!
A collection of moments from interviews and adventures over these past years.
Travis talks to Huhi on week four of the LCS.
Travis talks to Yellowstar on the fourth week of the LCS.
Travis talks to LCK's latest caster Achilios ahead of his broadcast debut.
Travis catches up with Gleeb to learn what's been happening with him since leaving Ember's starting position.
Travis talks to Lourlo during week 4 of the LCS.
Seung-Joon, Huni's brother, talks about his visit to LA.
Travis talks to Lemonnation about Bunny vs Hai, IMT, and his music choices.
Travis talks to Seraph about his time playing on TIP and TDK at the LCS.
Wildturtle shows Travis the very first Immortals team house.
Travis talks to NRG's Altec on the third week of LCS.
Travis talks to Xmithie at the NA LCS.
Travis talks to Darshan at the NA LCS about gaming, Xmithie, and his new shoes.
Travis talks to Fenix about his private struggles and how he has learned to stay motivated.
Travis talks to Rush about playing with Bunny, Hai, their Saturday match, and more.
Travis talks to Dardoch about which junglers he respects, his thoughts on the LCS, and more.
Travis talks to IMT Dylan Falco at LCS on week 3.
Travis talks to Doublelift (and a little Hai) at the third week of the LCS.
Travis talks to Immortals support Adrian about his new team, their success, and more.
Riot Games lead designer Greg Street explains how Hextech Crafting is a new system being introduced into League of Legends that will allow you to unlock almost any champion or ...
Alan Moore from Riot Games explains how the new dynamic queue system in League of Legends lets you play with more of your friends in ranked games.
Greg Street, the lead game designer for League of Legends, explains why and how they intend to replace the game's aging client with a new one.
League of Legends champion designer August Browning talks about his upcoming champion, Jhin, The Virtuoso
Riot Games Designer Greg Street discusses the new clubs and parties features set to hit League in a future update.
Travis talks to Reignover on the second week of the LCS.
Travis talks to Stixxay on week 2 of the LCS.
Travis talks to Rick Fox about his LCS team Echo Fox and his entrance into esports.
Travis talks to Gate about Team Impulse's run so far at the LCS.
Travis talks to Team Liquid coach Mark Zimmerman about the new expanded roster during week one of the LCS
Jhin's designer talks about one of his favorite mechanics.
Travis talks to GBM on the first day of the 2016 LCS season.
Travis talks to Apollo at the start of the NA LCS.
Travis talks to Rush during the first week of NA LCS.
League of Legends expert Travis Gafford joins us on The Lobby to talk about what ESPN's entry into the world of esports coverage means for the world of competitive gaming.
Travis talks to Huni about the strength of Immortals at the end of the first week of LCS.
Impact discusses his new life on NRG during the first week of LCS.
Travis talks to Doublelift at the start of the NA LCS.
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WASHINGTON – If President Obama were to break the impasse with Republicans over raising the debt limit by taking unilateral action, such a move would have the potential to set off a firestorm of controversy and spark a protracted legal battle.
Top Senate Democrats say, go for it.
The White House has dismissed talk that Obama would rely on unusual measures to raise the nation's debt limit without Congress' approval, but administration officials also have warned that the country could default on its debt and trigger a new economic crisis if lawmakers don't increase the limit on borrowing.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is among those urging Obama to consider options like invoking the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to find ways around the $16.4 trillion legal cap on government borrowing. The amendment states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned," which some lawmakers believe permits a way out of the debt limit jam.
The government hit the debt limit last month and is juggling the books to buy additional time for Congress to act. But those moves only buy a few weeks of wiggle room, which requires Congress to act -- likely by mid- to late-February -- to avoid a market-quaking default on U.S. obligations.
The White House has said emphatically that it does not believe that the 14th Amendment permits Obama to ignore the debt cap on U.S. borrowing, though it considered the question during the 2011 debt crisis.
"There is no Plan B. There is no backup plan," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday. "There is no alternative to Congress raising the debt ceiling."
A letter to Obama on Friday from Reid and Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., doesn't mention the 14th Amendment, but aides to the senators said that's what they have in mind in urging the president to consider unilateral action.
"We believe you must be willing to take any lawful steps to ensure that America does not break its promises and trigger a global economic crisis -- without congressional approval, if necessary," the letter said.
Battling House and Senate leaders have made virtually no progress on a strategy for legislation to lift the debt cap. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, insists that any debt increase be matched by equivalent spending cuts. Obama, buoyed by his re-election victory, says he won't negotiate as he did in 2011, when he traded a $2.1 trillion debt increase for tight spending limits on agency budgets and automatic, across-the-board spending cuts if a congressional "supercommittee" failed to reach a budget agreement.
"Senate Democrats cannot ignore their responsibilities for political convenience -- and the American people will not tolerate an increase in the debt limit without spending cuts and reforms," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel.
The impasse has people on both sides scratching their heads over how it will be resolved. The anxiety is such that some on the left are urging Obama to mint a coin worth perhaps $1 trillion to be deposited at the Federal Reserve and drawn upon to meet government obligations.


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Tuesday , June 12, 2018 - 10:00 PM
January 22, 1932 ~ June 11, 2018
FIELDING- Our loving father and grandfather, Oleen Clive Garn, 86, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 11, 2018, in Tremonton, Utah. He was born to Micah Oleen Garn and Erma Lenora Nielson, on January 22, 1932, in Garland, Utah.
As a boy he worked on the family farm until he graduated from Bear River High School. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War on the U.S.S. Manchester.
Upon returning home, he continued his education at Utah State University where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. While there he met a beautiful 'red head' from Burley, Idaho, named Aloha Louise Taylor, whom he married on July 12, 1956, in the Logan LDS Temple. They were blessed with four children: Craig, Kathryn, Tina, and Lisa.
He loved serving the Lord and his church. He served as Stake Missionary, High Counselor, Stake President for the Garland Utah Stake and Stake Patriarch for the Fielding and Garland Utah Stakes.
He is survived by his daughters, Kathryn and (Allen) Willis, Tina and (Stephen) Brueckner, Lisa and (Brady) Chournos; a daughter-in-law, Lynda (Johnson) Garn; and by his brother, Darvel N. Garn; 14 precious grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sweetheart, Aloha; and his son, Craig.
There will be a viewing held on Friday, June 15, 2018, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Rogers & Taylor Funeral Home (111 North 100 East, Tremonton).
Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018, at 10 a.m., at the Fielding Stake Center (4375 West 15600 North, Fielding), with a viewing from 9 to 9:45 a.m., prior to the funeral. Burial services will follow at the Fielding Cemetery.
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British theater mogul Sir Peter Hall has died at age 86.
Hall passed away on Monday at University College Hospital in London, surrounded by his family, the National Theatre has announced. He had been diagnosed with dementia in 2011.
Hall is best known for founding the Royal Shakespeare Company and being the former director of the National Theatre.
"The National Theatre is deeply saddened to announce the death of its former Director, Sir Peter Hall, one of the great names in British theatre," they wrote on their website.
The theatre's lights will be dimmed on Tuesday evening on London's South Bank to remember his contribution to the company.
His career highlights include staging the English-language premiere of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" and the world premiere of Harold Pinter's "Homecoming."
He is survived by his wife, Nicki, and children Christopher, Jennifer, Edward, Lucy, Emma, his actress daughter Rebecca of Frost/Nixon fame, and nine grandchildren.


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Danny Choo
Who is Danny Choo?
Born in the UK to Chinese Malaysian parents and currently residing in Tokyo since 1999, Danny Choo is the creator of a brand called Culture Japan which shares Japanese culture through in-house produced TV Shows, Character Content and a Fashion Doll known as Smart Doll.
Danny also writes about life in Japan as a foreigner on his blog and has been doing so regularly since 2004.
What does Danny do?
Danny directs and presents on the TV shows Culture Japan and Japan Mode which are broadcast weekly on TV channels domestic in Japan and internationally.
Danny is also the creator of Mirai Suenaga (pronounced "mee-rai soo-eh-na -gah") - the mascot character for Culture Japan who has collaborated with various anime and game companies such as Square Enix, Good Smile Company, Bushiroad, Ascii Media Works, King Records and Nitroplus.
In 2013, Mirai became an official mascot for Japan Tourism and in 2014 she became an official mascot for Malaysia Tourism.
Danny has been recognised for his work by the Japanese government who have appointed him as a member on various high level committees which focus on strategies to disseminate Japanese content outside of Japan.
Career and clients
Previously an Engineer for Japan Airlines, Website Manager at Amazon, Product Manager at Microsoft, Danny developed a proprietary CMS called Mirai Gaia which he licenses out together with marketing services to clients which include Disney, Columbia Music, Konami, Production IG, Good Smile Company, Bushiroad, King Records, Kadokawa, Kotobukiya, Ascii Media Works, Nitroplus and Sega.
Speaking Appointments
Danny speaks at conferences and universities worldwide on the subject of Japanese Pop Culture and is the host for two of the worlds largest anime events Anime Expo and Anime Festival Asia.
Danny's stage work includes speaking for the advertising agency Dentsu at the Cannes Advertising Festival and for SEGA's Vocaloid Hatsune Miku concert Mikunopolis in Los Angeles. Danny is also invited to speak at conferences around the world such as the Mobile World Congress on the subject of Startups and Entrepreneurship.
Danny's spoken languages are English, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean.
Find out more
Folks who are interested in learning more can do so in the following extensive posts which cover how and why he is in Japan and how he started up his company against many odds.
- How Discovering Japan Changed My Life
- How I Started A Company in Japan
- My First Visit To Japan
- Why Money Doesn't Motivate me
- The Making of Smart Doll
The above is written in 3rd person as press and event organizers keep asking for something to copy and paste ^^
Everything below is back to normal written in 1st person.
Where Does Danny Work?
This is our offices located in Gotanda Tokyo where we develop and manufacture a fashion doll that I created called Smart Doll. We also make TV shows and do product and web development here too.
It took quite a number of years to get to this stage of having a proper office and you can read why in this post.
If you are interested in working here then you should come with us on a photowalk.
Government Work
In 2013, the Japanese government appointed me as a member of their Creative Industries Internationalization Committee (CIIC) where I gather with the top folks from companies such as Bandai Namco Games, Sony Music Entertainment, Horipro, Kodansha, Isetan, Mitsui Fudousan, Tokyo Broadcasting System and others to decide what measures should be taken to help the proliferation of Japanese content around the world. The full member list is up at the METI website.
In 2015, the Japanese Cabinet appointed me as a member of their "Cool Japan Strategy Committee" [クールジャパン戦略推進会議] - a larger scale initiative that involves many more ministries including MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology), MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Japan Tourism Agency, MOF (Ministry of Finance) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
I have also been working with Japan and Malaysia Tourism on various projects that involve my character Mirai Suenaga which I will talk about later in this post.
Sharing Japan through photos
I love Japan and I know what its like to be on the outside which is one of the reasons why I will always continue to share photos of my daily life in Japan with those who don't live here.
I try to document as many of my photos as possible with information on visiting or living in Japan.
If you are visiting Japan then check out the Places to visit in Japan photo category, if you are going to or have just moved to Japan then check out the Living in Japan Guide photo category or if you want to learn more about Japanese culture then check out the Japanese Culture photo category.
Sharing life through articles
I was bullied at school, been around for 4 decades, lived in 3 different countries, worked in corporate life and started up a company. I share my experiences and discoveries in the career category listed up below.
- How I started my company in Japan
- My First Visit To Japan
- Why Money Doesn't Motivate Me
- Staying Strong When Things Go Bad
- How To Mass Produce Your Own Products
- Are you living the life of others?
- 3D Printing in Japan
- How Discovering Japan Changed My Life
- How to write a resume
- Organizing Your Workspace
- View more
Character Development - Mirai Suenaga
Back in 2007, I created a character who I named Mirai Suenaga [末永みらい] - the meaning is "Eternal Future."
Back then she was created with the purpose to prettify the website but she ended up turning to be more than a website mascot. Mirai went on to collaborate with various anime and game companies such as Square Enix, Good Smile Company, Bushiroad, Ascii Media Works, King Records and Nitroplus.
In 2013, Mirai became an official mascot for Japan Tourism and in 2014 she became an official mascot for Malaysia Tourism.
In April 2015, Mirai starred in her first live action drama doS Deka (Tabe Mikako, Yoshida Yo) which was broadcast on NTV in Japan. This first episode reached a record high 12.7% viewership across Japan.
Character Development - Mirai & Friends
Somewhere along the way, I created more characters to keep Mirai company - her younger sister Haruka Suenaga, a floating spherical robot called Retrokyu and 4 school mates who are Kanata Hoshikawa, Eiji Seiun, Kizuna Yumeno and Chitose Shirasawa.
"Mirai" means "Future" in Japanese and thats what she turned out to be for me and my company - everything that we do revolves around her.
Mirai has built a fair following around the world and here is just some of the cosplayers who support her - more can be found on her Pinterest cosplay page.
Mirai has also had the honor of being illustrated by many popular illustrators who participate in the Japanese pop culture field. Many of these illustrations are used on the products that we produce.
Product Development - Japanese Learning
I wanted to make Japanese language learning more fun and thought that it would be a good idea to do so by fusing it with Japanese Moe culture.
The result was a deck of 50 cards that teaches Hiragana called Moekana which was released in April 2012.
Moekana became a hit over night - the first print run sold out during the pre-order period and became the second best selling anime product on Amazon Japan. Even though Moekana was developed for foreigners to learn Japanese, Japanese folks also bought the product for their kids too! Moekana is currently in its Second Edition.
In June 2013, we launched Moekanji - a deck of 80 cards which teaches first grade kanji.
Product Development - Smart Doll
I wanted to create a 1/3 scale fashion doll modelled after Mirai but no manufacturer was interested in working with me. After having the door slammed in my face, I spent about 2 years researching material properties, various molding methods and then doing extensive networking to find vendors who I could work with.
I used up pretty much all the cashflow that my company saved and started to develop our own brand of fashion dolls in Japan using 3D printers to make molds.
Today, Smart Doll is in thousands of homes worldwide owned by creative folks who love to customize and take photos of their new companion.
And here is a closer look at my creations. The result is my vision of what I believe to be the optimum design for an international modern fashion doll.
TV Production - Culture Japan & Japan Mode
I direct, produce and present on a TV show called Culture Japan which covers Japanese Pop and Traditional culture.
The show is broadcast on Tokyo MX TV in Japan and across the world on various cable, terrestrial and online networks including Animax Asia, Mnet in America and Crunchyroll.
While Culture Japan is targeted at folks outside of Japan, the national broadcast in Japan became particularly popular in its second season often trending on Twitter after each episode.
I also present on a TV show called Japan Mode which focuses on Japanese lifestyle. Japan Mode is broadcast on FOX's Star World channel across Asia and is sponsored by Panasonic and Toyota.
Apart from Culture Japan and Japan Mode, I also have a TV show broadcast in the mornings on Japanese TV (Tokyo MX TV) called Check Time which focuses on business related to Japanese Pop Culture.
Web Production - Mirai Gaia
I've been developing websites for most of my career starting at Japan Airlines moving on to the scientific journal Nature, Amazon and Microsoft. After leaving Microsoft, I developed a CMS called Mirai Gaia that would not only cater for my own needs but for the needs of my clients too.
I started out building Mirai Gaia in PHP+MYSQL but now we have migrated to Ruby on Rails+PostgreSQL.
This photo is taken with the boss of Good Smile Company and Max Factory - both companies use Mirai Gaia as their consumer facing web solution.
For some of my clients, we also maintain their social media networks like Facebook and Twitter too. My clients are mostly in the anime industry and include Production IG, King Records, Good Smile Company, Bushiroad, Kadokawa, Ascii Media Works, Yuzu Soft, SEGA and more.
Event Production - Culture Japan Night
I host a networking event called "Culture Japan Night" worldwide where the main purpose is to meet fans of Mirai and friends and make sure that by the end of the event they have made new friends too.
Emcee and Speaking Appointments
I'm regularly invited to speak at various conferences around the world. Previous appointments have included speaking at the Mobile World Congress on the topic of Startups and Entrepreneurship, for the advertising agency Dentsu at the Cannes Advertising Festival, Trend Day in Germany, Imprint Culture Lab in Los Angeles, Thailand Game Show, Promax DBA Asia in Singapore and more.
I also emcee for various stage events and broadcasts in English and Japanese. I have previously looked after many Japanese voice actresses such as Chiwa Saito, Miyuki Sawashiro, Hanazawa Kana and more.
Artists that I've looked after include LiSA, May'n, FLOW, Angela, Sphere and Hatsune Miku's Mikunopolis in Los Angeles concert.
I am also host for two of the worlds biggest anime events Anime Festival Asia and Anime Expo.
University Lectures
I occasionally give lectures at universities in Japan and abroad on the subject of career development.
So far I have lectured at Kadokawa Contents Academy, Nihon University, Keio University, London University (SOAS), Digital Hollywood University and Nagaoka Institute of Design.
Tokyo Dance Trooper
I was brought up on Star Wars and have always wanted to be a Stormtrooper since I was a kid - but had to wait until I was an adult to become one.
After getting hold of some armor with permission from my finance director (wife), I customised it so that it was a wee bit easier to move around in - then I tested it out on the streets of Tokyo.
Media Coverage
My work and the Culture Japan brand is regularly featured in newspapers, magazines, news networks and TV shows around the world which include CNN, BBC, NHK, KTLA, 8TV, LCI, Channel NewsAsia, Japan Bravo and more.
Camera Equipment
I first started taking photos using a Canon IXY compact camera then moved on to Canon Kiss DSLR.
Following the Kiss, I switched to Panasonic and used a few generations of their GF series.
I then moved on to the Sony NEX series which then proceeded to using the Sony full frame RX1 and A7 II
I used Nikon for a while and during that time was asked to be in a commercial for them.
This is my workspace which I'm constantly trying to optimise to enable me to do things more efficiently. I document that process in the Desk Diary series.
Spoken Languages
My spoken languages are (in order of proficiency) English, Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Korean although my Korean reading ability is much better than my Mandarin.
I'm also currently learning Malay and Bahasa Indonesia but progress is slow ><
My work involves a lot of travel - I spend nearly half a year away from my home in Tokyo to speak at or attend conferences. The Travel photo category contains photos of my trips - but is not updated as regular as I'd like it to be ><
I've been gaming since the Commodore 64 years where we loaded games via a cassette tape that took over 10 mins!
I then discovered Japan through the Sega Megadrive in an era where I became to own a Super Famicom and PC Engine Duo.
These days my line of work involves not only anime but games too so I'm required to keep in the loop with the latest and greatest by spending some time playing. If you are Sony gamer then feel free to add me - my PSN ID is dannychoodotcom
My latest games are listed in this post.
Employment Highlights
There are many resume templates that you can download from the Internets but I thought I'd share a tried and tested resume format that got me jobs at companies like Amazon and Microsoft and interview/job offers from Google and Apple - which I turned down to go to Microsoft ^^;
Anyway, the word file for the my CV is here - feel free to use it. Read more about my resume format.
Culture Japan (Mirai Inc) : April 2007 - Present (Tokyo) Representative Director
"Mirai Inc" is the company that I founded and "Culture Japan" is the umbrella brand which we use to share Japanese content through various mediums which are mainly TV, Character Content and a Fashion Doll called Smart Doll.
Everything we do revolves around our mascot character Mirai Suenaga.
Microsoft : April 2006 - March 2007 (Tokyo) CGM Product Manager
At Microsoft I managed planning, service evaluation, development, implementation and execution of various online services such as Favorites, Spaces and Maps.
Amazon.com (JOYO) Nov 2004 - Apr 2005 (Tokyo/Beijing) Sr Manager, China Website Development
My last project at Amazon was managing the acquired Chinese website joyo.com where I was responsible for the management and recruitment for software development, web development and catalog systems/operations in China.
Amazon (Alexa) : March 2004 - Nov 2004 (Seattle) Sr Manager, Global ASIN Metrics
During my 6 months at Amazon HQ in Seattle, I was responsible for the management of software development teams to develop and deliver ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number - a unique identifier for our products) metrics systems such as Competitive Monitoring, Selection Analysis and more.
Amazon Japan : Aug 2001 - Mar 2004 (Tokyo) Sr Website Manager
My first responsibility during my time at Amazon was to manage development and deployment of the website.
At Amazon I was responsible for the production team of 30 which comprised of Web Development, Quality Assurance, Design, Browse Development, Content Build and Deployment, Cross Site Editorial, Imaging, Program Management and Catalog Operations.
My team was responsible for the launch of various product lines such as Video Games, Software, Gift, Marketplace, Consumer Electronics and Home&Kitchen and features such as My Store, Listmania, Wishlist and Cash On Delivery.
Before my next assignment in Seattle, I implemented various Search Engine Optimization changes to all of the Amazon retail sites resulting in incremental revenues of millions of US dollars.
Nature : Jul 1999 - Apr 2001 (Tokyo) Web Marketing Executive
My first job in Japan was working at the scientific journal called Nature responsible for marketing of Nature and 12 sister journals in South East Asia (Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore).
I left Nature with incremental subscription numbers, a new Korean language web portal and launched various magazines in my regions which included Nature Immunology, Nature Genetics, Nature Molecular Cell Biology and Nature Neuroscience.
Japan Airlines : Jul 1998 - Jun 1999 (London) Computer Engineer
The first full time job I had after I graduated from university was back in London at a subsidiary company of Japan Airlines called JAL Avionet where I was responsible for software/hardware support and maintenance of Japan Airlines reservation systems throughout Europe.
I also maintained computer systems for JALs other clients which included NHK, NTT Data, Mitsui Kaijyou and Marubeni.
My Wife
Photo taken with my wife at Yosemite National Park. We met back in London when we were working in a Japanese restaurant and have been together ever since.
I most certainly could have not made this journey without her. Folks who visit our booths or attend the events that we host would have seen her running the show. She is currently the Finance and HR Director at my company Mirai Inc.
I still got a lot to learn but try to share what I have already experienced in the hope that folks will benefit when seeking their own answers in life.
Falling Hard
Smart Doll is my biggest life project so far and after 40 years on this planet I can tell you that the bigger your goals are, the bigger the hurdles are going to be and the harder you will fall.
Having not made anything like this before, there was a steep learning curve which in many cases involved trying things that often involved me tripping on one of those hurdles and falling flat on my face. Some would call this "failure" but I call this "learning" - nothing will always lead to nothing while something will always lead to something even though that something may seem like a failure.
Without failure, there is no learning and without learning, there would be no progress meaning that goals would not be reached. Don't be afraid of failure - be afraid of never reaching your goals.
Never give in
Another hurdle that I experienced is the constant disappointments of poor quality or just plain not-to-spec samples or product parts that come back from vendors. This can be very very depressing at times!
While I work with talented vendors, some of them have difficulty in working with the quality standards that I expect.
One has to grow very thick skin (thick enough to make siew yoke) by believing in what you are doing and not giving in when folks around you try to convince you otherwise - your goal is to make a quality product that encapsulates your vision - your goal here is not to make friends.
Telling talented vendors that their work is unacceptable is not an easy task and you will be hated "for being picky" but remember that once you give in, your product and vision dies there and then. Everybody else wins - you lose.
Then there are times when folks who are close to you will tell you otherwise - that "its good as it is" - that you are being too picky about nothing. If you give in and listen to them and find out that they are wrong afterwards you will end up blaming them.
The person you should blame in this case is yourself because it was you who listened to them in the first place.
Many of us worry as it makes us feel like we are doing something about a problem when in fact we are wasting time being anxious about nothing. Making a judgement call on an aspect of design (could be the frame, outer shell etc) that has an unknown outcome is a decision that affects time and money and we humans naturally don't want to waste either of these precious resources and worry whether we are making the correct decision or not.
But if you start to think about any decision you make as being essential to progress, then its easier to make quicker decisions even though the outcome turns out not as expected.
The reason is that now you have that unexpected outcome, you have something to work on to make a judgement call so that you can at least progress towards your goal instead of standing still.
If you find yourself worrying about a decision to make then just make any decision as it will at least set you off towards your goal instead of leaving yourself standing still worrying about nothing.
Another thing about worrying is that 95% of the things we worry about don't happen anyway which goes to show how we waste time worrying over nothing.
To prove this - think about 10 things which you remember worrying about in the past - you will find that most of it didn't happen and that you was worrying to see if you could come up with a scenario to remedy the outcome of a worry.
But there are things which you have absolutely no control over (weather, London busses etc) in which case just go with the flow! If you already new the flow from the beginning the life would be boring without any surprise or learning.
There is only one form of worry that is productive - the worry which leads to an action that fixes or improve something. "I'm worried and concerned about the boxes we are using for the shipping of Smart Doll - so lets change the boxes to a double corrugated type."
A better way
Whatever you do - you must always question the workflows you put in place - you must always tell yourself "there just *has* to be a better way to do this."
Without this mentality, you will end up working with old clumsy workflows that will eventually start to tie you down and prevent you from reaching your goals.
Don't leave stuff as it is just because everything just works - always strive to make it better.
Many of us wait for "the right timing" because we think it will be "easier" - disappointed you may be when I tell you there is no right timing. There is no right timing especially when it comes to things like moving house, changing a job, having a baby, getting married or starting your life project.
If you have something you really want to do in life then that time is now - not next week, not next month and definitely not in the new year when you make that "new years resolution." A new years resolution is an excuse to put something off for another year - if you convinced yourself to wait until the new year to make that resolution then your goal is either not important or you will convince yourself to put it off again.
A life goal has to mean everything to you otherwise it means nothing to you and you will never ever reach it.
The bigger your life project becomes, the more likely you are to come across people who get involved in your project and eventually stab your back.
Through the Smart Doll project I've had a few jabs to my back but the important thing was to move forward instead of spending time and resources to take a jab back - while very tempting, if you devote time to stabbing somebody back, it means that taking revenge has become more important and you will loose focus on your goal. It also means that the person who stabbed you has won because they got to stab you and also got you to give up on your goal.
Instead, use your anger and channel that into wanting to do everything to complete your goal sooner because the likelihood is that the person who you once worked with who stabbed your back will be watching your progress all the way and when you reach your goal then you have delivered the fatal blow - the humiliation of your backstabber watching you succeed.
This also applies to trolls on and offline. These days, I get trolled for anything and everything - does not really matter until the trolls start to tell malicious lies to gather recognition from their peers.
One of the reasons why trolls do what they do is because they do not have the ability to accomplish much in real life but gaining your attention gives them a sense of achievement.
Never ever react against a troll - instead of using your anger to counterattack with small clumsy uncalculated blows that will leave you feeling embarrassed afterwards, use your energy to aggressively continue to achieve your goals and live well.
I want my trolls to know that whenever I achieve my goals - this is what my face looks like when thinking of you. Please keep up the trolling - it really does me wonders.
Folks spend time whining about this and that and is something I used to do too - a complete waste of time that takes time and energy away from your project. Absolutely nothing that you whine about is worth even thinking about when compared to the problems that some folks face in the third world.
Goals involve sacrifices. The bigger your goal, the bigger the sacrifice you are going to have to make. Its one or the other - not both.
There is a myth that working for yourself means that you have the freedom to work on what you want whenever you want and that you will have more time to do your own stuff - how wrong the myth could be.
Once you start to work for yourself you don't have a steady paycheck anymore meaning you need to constantly think about income and then doing the work that involves bringing that income. This means you have less time for yourself and find yourself choosing between:-
#Running and growing the business
#Spending time with family
#Spending time on health
If you are not willing or finding it difficult to sacrifice something in order to reach your goal then you are going to take a long time or never reach your destination.
Importance of language
Without my knowledge of the Japanese language, there is no way I would have been able to be at this stage with Mirai. I could have used an interpreter but lots of things usually get lost in translation and also I would have wasted a lot of time too.
At the moment I use all my spoken languages on the development of Smart Doll - Japanese, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin (and a wee bit O English).
I know many foreigners in Japan who are not bothered with learning the lingo and some excuses I have heard is "my wife speaks Japanese so I don't have to" but notice that many of these folks can only go so far with the development of their business or career.
If you are seriously interested in developing a career in Japan then I urge you to make it a necessity to learn Japanese - if you are not sure where to start then here is a good starting point.
Google sensei is your friend
I just can't stress the importance of taking time out to learn and build your inventory of skills. Back when I was growing up in the UK, there were no Internets - if I wanted to learn something I needed to go to a library, rent a VHS tape, ask somebody or hope it just turns up on TV. Now that we have Google Sensei there is absolutely no excuse not to learn.
Google sensei taught me how to program PHP, MYSQL, CSS and use graphics packages like 3D Max, Photoshop, Fireworks and more. Google Sensei also taught me how to make soft vinyl parts and everything else that I needed to know for Smart Doll production.
Another reason why I was able to build up the business with limited resources is because I was able to do much of the stuff myself. My programming and graphics package knowledge enabled me to make websites and do consulting for companies like Disney, Columbia, King Records, Good Smile Company, Bushiroad, kadokawa and more.
The comfort zone
The definition of "hard work" varies from person to person but my definition would be something like:-
Something that requires a level of effort that exceeds what the human body is designed for. Humans by nature are designed to save energy and by default do not carry out tasks that are difficult and requires effort and energy.
Energy can be physical or mental. Mental hard work is things like dealing with difficult people or trolls, working under pressure of dealing with bosses or deadlines, working with ambiguity and making decisions that put the security of our basic human needs at risk - food and shelter. All of these things listed is not normally something one would want to do due to the effort involved.
Then there is physical energy which are things like working long hours (with illness) without rest, sleep or food or doing something which puts a strain on the body - could be something like strenuous physical tasks, doing monotonous work or constantly traveling through time zones.
However, humans avoid hard work not through a conscious decision but because they are biologically programmed to be efficient - in the eyes of these humans, hard work uses way too much energy and is thus not efficient. A humans efficiency is enhanced by us unconsciously working ourselves into a comfort zone. Our comfort zone could be a comfortable job that we may not necessarily like but it enables us to pay for our basic human needs and keeps our bodies efficient by not having the need to do anything that puts a strain on our body.
There is however a silver lining - once we start to doubt our programming then we can make a decision to change and believe that hard work pays off - the first thing to do is take the leap out of that comfort zone.
It's not the money
Many folks blame the money - "I could do it if I had the cash" - this is the voice of somebody who can't be bothered and does not have any real goals.
A modern day example is the Evernote type service called Springpad - even though they had 7.3 million USD of funding - they could not create a sustainable business - this could be for a variety of reasons and I'm not going to speculate either but just wanted to get the point across to you that its not the money that counts - its you and your desires and passions that decides whether you succeed in reaching your life goals.
This photo is of me and some workmates when I was working part time in a Japanese restaurant called Benihana. I left my father's studio to pursue my dreams of living and working in Japan (which you read about here) - working here fulfilled two goals - not only did I get to speak Japanese to staff and customers, I also earned the cash that I needed to travel to Japan once a year to absorb the culture.
I also reached another unexpected goal while working there - I met my wife ^^
Unfortunately there are a load of folks out there of the I-could-do-it-if-I-had-the-cash variety who are not willing to work for the money - I guess they are too good to wash or carry dishes like I did. Or maybe they were scared of breaking dishes like I sometimes did ^^;
The first thing that many startups do is seek funding but I see that as an act of not wanting to leave the comfort zone of a salaried job - this is evident by the flash offices these "startups" go and rent who start to fill it with expensive furniture and Macs for everyone - this does not sound like startup mentality to me.
Many successful startups tend to bootstrap their own business by initially using their own funds which are usually savings - in my case I bootstrapped my business through earnings at Amazon and Microsoft and over time through sales of Mirai Suenaga merchandise.
The good thing about using your own money to bootstrap your business is that you will be more frugal with the way cash is spent and learn how to innovate with scarce resources. Many companies who startup with millions of USD have abundant resources to play with so there is no need to innovate anymore. I guess this is one of the reasons why 90% of tech startups fail.
Humans do things based on necessity. If its not a requirement we tend not to do it because humans are by nature programmed to conserve energy - using energy to do something that is not a requirement goes against our programming.
If you was hungry you would go to the kitchen to look for food - if there is nothing in the cabinet or fridge then you would go out to get food. Eating is a necessity for us which is why we always make time to eat.
If you have a goal in life then you must make it a necessity - you must have a desire and a will to make it succeed - it is you that can and will make it happen - not the money.
Remember - its not the money - its you.
More about my background
Was born and raised in the East end of London - this photo taken in Victoria Park Hackney while I was still living with both parents. Parents are both Malaysian Chinese.
Later on in life during my early years, times were tough for my parents who both worked hard day n night. As they were both busy trying to make ends meet, they decided to put me in various foster homes which I lived in for most of my childhood. In some of the homes, I wasn't treated incredibly well but didn't say anything to my parents as I knew they were having their own financial and other problems. I ended up living with a white, black and then with an Indian family for what seemed like an eternity.
As luck would have it, one of the foster homes had guardians who would take my clothes and consider it theirs while their kids would constantly bully me - was easy to pick on the boy who had no parents. I was made to feel as unwelcome as possible in their house.
I remember a particular evening where we came back to the house to discover the front door open. We walked in to discover that the place was a mess - burglars had got in. I was scared and started to cry. The eldest child of my foster family shouted at me:-
"What are you crying for?! This isn't even your house!"
Other memorable moments in one of the homes was when I was strangled until I had red patches around my eyes. When asked the next day at school, all I could think of was saying that I put cups on my eyes ^^;
Another unforgettable time was when I was beaten with car racing tracks - a bit like these ones but were made of rubber with an orange strip down the middle. Was left with lovely bright red marks all over. Remember looking in the mirror after the beating session and still remember exactly what I looked like back then down to the green jumper that I was wearing.
The only thing I had in life back then were the occasional weekends with my parents. Dad would come to pick me up for the weekend and I would either stay with him or he would drop me off at mums. But at times he was just swamped with work and couldn't make it. The phone would ring and my foster parents would pick up and hand me the phone.
After hanging up I would sit crying on the stairs looking out at the small window above the door. I couldn't even go out to cry because I wasn't allowed out on my own apart from going to school. All I could do was go back to my room which was a small stock room with a bed. I would have dreams of my only friend Buck Rogers coming to visit me with his trusty robot Twiggy.
Mum and dad were paying my foster parents to house and feed me and not to particularly care about how well or bad I done at school. My childhood was school > go home > eat > occasionally watch TV > go to room > repeat.
The TV was my first encounter with Japanese anime where I watched Gatchaman (called G-Force in the UK). I didn't particularly know it was Japanese - not that it was important at the time anyway.
This photo was taken during the time I was staying at one of the foster homes. Didn't have much fun in school either. Was constantly bullied and most of my memories were of being dragged through gravel, gang beaten up, having my possessions burned, football constantly aimed at my face, and having the big guy in the school playground say to me "If I smash your head with this bat and kill you then I would go to jail. But it would be worth it." I remember having to ask the same person to punch me so that I could be part of his posse.
Memories attached to emotion are easy to remember as the brain releases a chemical which helps the memory to be stored for longer. This is why we easily remember moments of joy, sadness or embarrassment.
If you think back to your childhood, many of your memories with either be a mix of these emotions. I have no memories of happiness during my childhood apart from one of when my parents still lived together. It was Christmas and we were sitting in front of the Christmas tree in the living room back in Blurton Road Hackney.
Used to be quite depressed when I thought about my childhood until I started to think about what some other kids go through as a child - I had it easy compared to them.
Completely unmotivated throughout my school term, I ended up taking subjects because of what others in class took - I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do in life. With no destination in life or passion for the subjects that I studied, I didn't do well in school at all with average grades of D or E. Now you know why my English grammar is terrible ^^;
Cant remember at which point in life but I started to live with my parents again - with dad for a couple of years and then with mum until I moved out. This photo taken with mum last year. I want to be able to buy her a house somewhere so that she doesn't have to live in that council flat anymore. Love her to bits but she's as stubborn is as stubborn does and wants her own place and not one where I pay the rent for her ^^;
Don't have the cash quite yet after I nearly went bankrupt in 2009 but have been able to recover a wee bit of late. Getting a place for mum now would pretty much use up all of our savings and also mean that I would not have enough cash flow to continue to run the company which is not a good thing.
This is mums place in Hackney. Lived here until I moved out to live with wifey. Was veeeeeeeeery depressing living here. The neighbors would play thumping reggae music all day and night. The floor boards literally shook.
Mum got mugged in Hackney 3 times - once she was left unconscious after somebody hit her head. After getting a call, I ran to the hospital to find her with dried blood down her face and bruises on her arm where she tried to hold onto her handbag
Wikipedia (Wiki) Type References
Not updated since 2012 and not sure if I can find the time to update it ;-;
Speaking appointments
- Cool Japan Conference at Chokaigi (speaking with Yukio Edano the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry)
- Cool Japan Conference by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Speaker)
- 2012 Winter Good Smile Broadcast (Presenter)
- Tokyo International Anime Festival (panelist)
- Nagaoka University (Nagaoka, Japan) (2011/10) (Speaker on my career)
- Wonder Festival 2011 Summer (Tokyo) (Speaker at Kotobukiya stage)
- MIKUNOPOLIS (Hatsune Miku Concert) (MC)
- Anime Expo 2011 (Los Angeles) (Speaker and MC)
- Cannes International Advertising Festival (Speaker for Dentsu on Anime Culture)
- C3Hong Kong ( speaker on my TV production Culture Japan)
- Japanese Media Culture Conference (Tokyo) (Panelist)
- Cool Japan and Japanese Industries Seminar (Tokyo) (Ote News College)(Panelist)
- Anime Festival Asia 2010 (Singapore) (speaker on my TV production Culture Japan)
- Cool Japan Forum 2010 (Singapore) (host and speaker on "My Cool Japan")
- Anime Festival Asia 2010 (Singapore) (MC for voice actress Kana Hanazawa and Milky Holmes)
- Cool Japan Tokyo Conference (Tokyo) Organized by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Panelist.
- Anime Expo 2010 (first day panel) (second day panel) (Los Angeles)
- Digital Hollywood University (Tokyo) (Lecture on Creative Industries in Japan)
- University of London - (Speaker on Creative Industries in Japan)
- Animation Asia Conference (official site) (Singapore) (Speaker and panelist on Japanese Pop Culture)
- Anime Festival Asia 2009 (Singapore) (official site) (Performer and speaker on dannychoo.com)
- Good Ideas Salons Tokyo (Tokyo) (official site) (Panelist on Pure Living)
- Nihon University (Tokyo) (Speaker on my career and dannychoo.com)
- Apple Store Ginza (Tokyo) (Speaker on Consumer Generated Media)
- Remix Tokyo (Tokyo) (Speaker at Remix 2006 for Microsoft on "Windows Live Gadgets")
- Imprint Culture Lab (Los Angeles) (Speaker at Imprint Culture Lab on "dannychoo.com & Blog Culture")
- Trend Day 2008 (Germany) (Speaker on Otaku Culture and dannychoo.com)
- Promax BDA Asia 2008 (Singapore) (Speaker on Otaku culture and dannychoo.com)
- Animax Blogging Workshop (Singapore) (Speaker on history of dannychoo.com, monetization and userbility)
- Pecha Kucha Night (Tokyo) (Speaker on Tokyo Trooper)
Radio, TV, Commercials, Movie
- Channel NewsAsia (Singapore) guest on the morning Primetime Morning to talk the anime industry and monetary aspects.
- Culture Japan (Tokyo MX TV / ANIMAX Asia) Presenter and Director.
- Nikon Commercial
- CNN (Feature on Danny Choo)
- The People vs George Lucas (Theatrical movie)
- Kira Kira Asia (BS11 / Shanghai / Taiwan) Presenter.
- A is ASIA (NHK World) Feature on Danny Choo.
- Fantastico (Brazil nationwide broadcast) (video here)
- TBS Radio
- O-Japan Senryaku (Tokyo MX TV)
- La Chaîne Info (France TV Broadcast)
- iPhone 3GS Launch (Nationwide press coverage)
- BBC News at 10PM (Otaku Subculture)
- BBC World Fast Track
- Google My Fave Places
- Firefox 3.5 Welcome Video
- CNN (iPhone 3G Tokyo Launch)
- G4TV (Attack of the Show)
- G4TV (Ninja Fest 3)
- Lily Allen and Friends (UK BBC)
- Won Hobby 5
- Boing Boing TV
- Blog TV (Tokyo MX TV)
- News Zero (Nippon TV)
- Akiba Report part1 (Tokyo MX TV)
- Akiba Report part2 (Tokyo MX TV)
- Asamade Nama WonHobby (Good Smile Nico Nico Broadcast)
- The Star (Malaysian newspaper 2010/05/17)
- Japan Times (Japan) Feature on Danny Choo.
- Weekly Ascii
- BMW Magazine (Worldwide) Trends in Japan
- Otacool 1,2,3 (a collaboration publication with Kotobukiya)
- Otaku Encyclopedia (featured under "C" ^^;)
- La Repubblica XL (Italy) (feature on Danny Choo)
- Mac Fan (feature on Danny Choo and Mirai Inc)
- Weekly Ascii (100 famous folks gadgets)
- Game Axis (Malaysian game magazine)
- Tokyo Sports Newspaper (Feature on Otacool)
- Nikkei Sangyo Newspaper (Talking about dannychoo.com and online monetization)
- Weekly Ascii (Japanese Internet publication)
- Windows 100% (Japanese computing publication)
- Freesouls (a book by Joi Ito)
- Monoqlo
- Yahoo Internet Guide (Japanese publication)
- Windows 100% May 2006 (Japanese publication)
- Metropolis (Magazine for gaijin folks in Japan)
- Weekly SPA Jan 15th 2008 (Japanese publication speaking on Second Life)
- Weekly SPA Aug 15th 2007 (Japanese publication speaking on dannychoo.com and online affiliating)
- Monoqlo 2 (Japanese publication)
- Giant Robot Magazine 51 (Asian culture publication)
Online publications
- Boing Boing (Guest blogger)
- Best Japan Blog (Forbes)
- Yahoo.com top page (my Akiba dance trooper vid was featured)
- Gyao Trend (interview/Japanese)
- Ascii (interview/Japanese)
- Wired Magazine (my otaku guide)
- Ameba News
Contact and Connect
I get quite a bit of spam that gets through the filters and another 1653 mails a day asking me everything from "can you buy me x" to "could you translate this for me."
I would love to answer all mails but if I did so then all I would be doing is answering mails all my life - and life is too short too do that. Please don't hate me if I cant reply ;-)
I tend to skip the long mails due to lack of time - short mails are usually read. If you don't get an answer, please resend mail again after 2 weeks. If I manage to make a clone of myself I promise to read and reply to all mails ;-)
Please contact me through my FaceBook or mail which is [support at mirai dot fm]
Folks who are interested may want to hook up on the following communities which I participate in - feel free to add or follow.


text:
I like it
Reviewed By Christan C (Burns, OR) Reviewed for a 1993 Ford F-150 —8/13/2014 1:25 PM
The defector was easy to install and fit very well. It doesn't stand as tall as the original but it's a little longer and fits the truck well. Good instructions on placement. Make sure to read them.


text:
PERTH, AUSTRALIA (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — The weekslong search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is "an extraordinarily difficult exercise" but it will go on as long as possible, Australia's prime minister said Monday.
The Boeing 777 disappeared March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard, and after experts sifted through radar and satellite data, they gradually moved the hunt from seas off of Vietnam, to areas west of Malaysia and Indonesia, and then to several areas west of Australia.\
"This is an extraordinarily difficult exercise .... we are searching a vast area of ocean and we are working on quite limited information," Abbott said, adding that the best brains in the world and all the technological mastery is being applied to the task.
"If this mystery is solvable, we will solve it," he said. He said the search that has been going on for more than three weeks is operating on guestimates "until we locate some actual wreckage from the aircraft and then do the regression analysis that might tell us where the aircraft went into the ocean."
Ten planes were either over the search zone or heading there by late Monday afternoon, and another 10 ships were scouring the area, about 1,850 kilometers (1,150 miles) west of Australia. More than 100 personnel in the air and 1,000 sailors at sea were involved in Monday's hunt, with some sections of the zone expected to experience low clouds and rain. It takes planes about 2 1/2 hours to get to the area, allowing a five-hour search before they must return to Perth.
The aircraft and ships are crisscrossing a search zone that was redefined based on radar and satellite data from the Boeing 777, although after several days no debris has been found that can be linked to the flight, officials say. Only fishing equipment and other flotsam have been spotted.
Former Australian defense chief Angus Houston on Monday began his job of heading the new Joint Agency Coordination Center, which will oversee communication with international agencies involved in the search. The Perth-based center will position Australia to shoulder more of Malaysia's coordination responsibilities as the search drags on indefinitely.
Houston will also play a prime coordination role when victims' families travel to Australia in the weeks ahead. Abbott said he was not putting a time limit on the search. "We owe it to everyone to do whatever we reasonably can and we can keep searching for quite some time to come ... and, as I said, the intensity of our search and the magnitude of operations is increasing, not decreasing."
The Ocean Shield, an Australian warship which is carrying a U.S. device that detects "pings" from the flight recorders, was expected to leave Perth on Monday for the search zone, a trip that will take three to four days. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the search, said it would first conduct sea trials on Monday afternoon to test the search equipment on board.
The search area remains vast, so investigators are hoping to first find debris floating on the ocean surface that will help them calculate where the plane crashed into the water. Meanwhile, several dozen Chinese relatives of Flight 370 passengers visited a Buddhist temple near Kuala Lumpur on Monday to pray for their loved ones. They offered incense, bowed their heads in a moment of silence, knelt several times during the prayers and lowered their heads in kowtows. Buddhist nuns handed out prayer beads to them. "You are not alone," one nun said. "You have the whole world's love, including Malaysia's."
Several of the relatives were overcome with emotion, tears streaming down their faces. The family members later made a brief statement to journalists, expressing their appreciation to the Chinese government and the people of Malaysia and the volunteers who have been assisting them. They bowed as a show of gratitude, but also said they were still demanding answers.
"To those who are guilty of harming our loved ones, hiding the truth, and delaying the search and rescue, we will also definitely not forgive them," said a family representative, Jiang Hui. The relatives' comments Monday were seen as a small conciliatory move after they staged an angry protest in front of reporters on Sunday at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur. At the time, they chanted slogans, raised banners and called on the Malaysian government to apologize for what they dubbed missteps in the handling of the disaster.
Wong reported from Kuala Lumpur. Associated Press writers Scott McDonald and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur; Malaysia; Kristen Gelineau in Sydney; and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.


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|2008-02-20, 21:43
|Link #203
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In line to confess his sins.
Age: 30
|2008-03-20, 11:31
|Link #204
(; ,;) fthagn
my three quotes regarding how i perceive people:
"doing good things doesn't make you a good person, and doing bad things doesn't make you a bad person."
"there is no such thing as good people, and there is no such thing as bad people."
"people are people."
|2008-03-29, 09:12
|Link #209
i don't work for points
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: behind you in the shadows
Age: 32
" A strong man doesn't need to read the future. He makes his own "
" We can tell other people about - having faith. What we had faith in. What we found important
enough to fight for. It's not whether you were right or wrong, but how much faith you were
willing to have, that decides the future. "
" Building the future and keeping the past alive are one in the same thing. "
" A legend is nothing but fiction. Someone tells, someone else hears it, everybody passes it on. "
" We need to pass the torch, and let our children read our messy and sad history by its light. "
" Human muscles are quite eloquent. They speak out clearly what the persons next move will
be... They even tell me which way a gun will be pointed before the trigger is pulled. "
" Does it have to be one or the other - love or hate? "
" People's values change over time. And so do the leaders of a country. So there's no such thing
as an enemy in absolute terms. The enemies we fight are only in relative terms, constantly
changing with the times. "
" If you can't put the past behind you, you won't survive long. "
" Life's end... isn't it beautiful? It's almost tragic. When life ends, it gives off a final, lingering
aroma. Light is but a farewell gift from the darkness to those on their way to die. I've been
waiting, Snake, for a long time. Waiting for your birth, your growth, and the finality of today. "
" history will never know what thay did. there story, there debriefing, will endure only in your
heart - thay were real hero. "
" Witness the sorrow you have caused.. "
" Light and dark breed within you... "
|2008-03-30, 11:10
|Link #210
Witch of Betrayal
Join Date: Jan 2006
Fate/Stay night: People die when they are killed.
My biology teacher: (cynically): ...The somatic nervous system...or, the nerves associated to the feeling of control...
From WoW: Mages are like the Irish...they fight, then drink, fight again and drink...
|2008-03-30, 17:31
|Link #214
although you lost your posh, upper classness in the second line but I guess this isn't a lecture hall.
|2008-03-30, 19:12
|Link #215
Doughy goodness. I think.
Join Date: Mar 2008
|2008-03-30, 21:34
|Link #216
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Canada
1) "When people say nothing is impossible, they never tried pulling a door that says push"
2) "It is better to be a dragon's tail than being a serpent's head"
3) "Live through your life as if it were your second and last"
4) "If you want to grab a star, grab it. Don't take your eyes off it because once you do, you will never find it among the many stars."
|Thread Tools


text:
Posted 8 years ago
(3 items)
Another one from my father in law; machine was inoperative; cabinet had bad water rings from wet glasses. Some one had tried to refinish it and had just put a stain varnish on top without any prep. Disassembled, stripped, restained, oiled with Watco and reassembled using all original bolts, screws, hinges. Oiled and got machine working with a new belt. Sadly someone had painted the machine, I tried gently stripping the paint and was able to get some of the old gold flaked letters and detailed work to come up. Amazing the machine has a drip pan when it is in working position to catch oil, it was very obvious that it needed constant oiling.


text:
SPAIN: PepsiCo signs marketing pact with Real Madrid
PepsiCo's international soft drinks operation, PepsiCo Beverages International (PBI), has signed a global marketing pact with the Spanish football club, Real Madrid Club de Futbol, which will see the Pepsi brand continue its relationship with the world-famous Spanish team.
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Multichannel Marketing and the Customer Journey Training
Consumers don't see "channels". They only see brands to facilitate their needs in the moment. Yet despite this, businesses are often structured, resourced and budgeted around individual marketing channels, which can lead to a disconnect between consumers and brands….or even within businesses themselves.
This is no chalk and talk session. Using a case study throughout the day, this practical one-day course provides you with the strategic planning tools to take a compelling campaign proposition to market, with a multichannel marketing strategy that ensures you can deliver the right content, to the right person, through the blend of channels they prefer.
Having mapped out the multichannel activation plan for your brand, you will then gain an understanding of the key measures and how to bring these together in a meaningful context.
The day starts with discussion around some of the organisational barriers that inhibit multichannel activation with some fascinating examples of successful and not-so-successful campaigns.
We'll then work through a strategic planning framework to create a campaign proposition. This will become the foundation of your content and multichannel strategy.
You'll map out the customer journey, from awareness to advocacy, exploring the most effective journey models.
The course will provide a solid understanding of multiple and integrated digital marketing channels outlining the part they play at each stage of the customer journey and how they can work together to achieve better results.
Last but not least, you'll address effective measurement techniques and discuss how you can overcome common challenges around multichannel reporting.
The day is peppered with real-life case studies and anecdotes; also offering the opportunity for delegates to share and discuss their own specific challenges.
The course is organised into four key areas: audience, journey, channels and measurement; delegates can expect to leave the day with a framework they can apply to their own roles.
Who should attend?
This course is ideal for both traditional and digital marketers who have been charged with the responsibility for planning, executing and measuring integrated marketing campaigns.
How will I benefit?
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Strategically plan a multichannel marketing campaign using a set of planning tools that can be used back in the office.
- Learn an approach to constructing a compelling single-minded-campaign proposition, to take to market
- Understand the context to multichannel strategy and why it is so important to your business
- Gain knowledge of the current trends (media fragmentation, audience shifts, reliance on the web) that are transforming marketing
- Understand the importance of measurement in context of the customer journey
What will I learn?
The course covers:
Planning and strategy
- How online & traditional offline media is converging
- Audience behaviour
- Which channels create the desired behaviour
- Selecting the right channels, tactics and metrics for your campaign
- Key considerations to take into account when briefing and developing creative
- Campaigns for multichannel use
- Understanding the importance of integrated marketing communications
- The tools used by planners when developing integrated multichannel campaigns
- Considerations for direct response versus brand objectives
- Integrating creative, the importance of relevance and good call to action
- Media buying options, rates and the art of negotiation
Delivery, measurement and analysis
- How to evaluate multichannel campaigns and what are the key complexities with on-to-offline / offline to online customer journey
- Measuring campaign effectiveness
In-company training
This course can also be delivered exclusively for your team. In-company training ensures everyone is up to best practice standard and you'll benefit from a more open environment to discuss your most pressing issues.
For more information, please get in touch with the team at email@example.com or call us on (UK & Europe): +44 (0)207 970 4167 or US: 212-971-0630.
We are a registered provider with the CPD Standards Office. Delegates completing this course may be issued with a CPD Certificate of Attendance, which can be used within their formal CPD record for a professional body, institute, or employer.
Ben Pask
Co-Founder/Director, Rare
A rounded marketing strategist with a passion in solving business problems, with solutions that are useful to people.
With a degree in psychology and experience in researching consumer behaviour, Ben has a keen interest in what motivates people and is excited about the opportunity digital presents in delivering better solutions to our lives, everyday.
Having spent time under the desk in agencies, brands and market research Ben co-founded Rare: to help marketers become more confident in their capabilities and business decisions, through training & consultancy across a broad set of marketing disciplines, including: audience research, brand consultancy, content strategy, multichannel marketing and better briefing.
Outside of work he is an active musician, playing in bands, releasing records and touring.


text:
Ex-jail officer, wife charged in food stamp case
Ex-jail officer, wife charged in food stamp case
FRANKFORT, Ky. —
A former corrections officer in Frankfort and his wife have been charged with illegally using food stamps that belong to someone else.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that a grand jury in Frankfort handed up the charges Wednesday against Christopher D. Blankenship and Shanda Blankenship.
Christopher Blankenship was charged with official misconduct, promoting contraband and making false statements to receive benefits over $100. His wife was charged with possession of a forged instrument and making false statements to receive benefits
A statement released by the jail said the charges were the result of an internal investigation of the officer which began "months ago."


text:
Karoo Biking specialises in superbly organised BMW Motorcycle Tours and Rentals in Southern Africa. We combine adventurous off-road and interesting on-road riding to create exceptional experiences. Through encouraging client testimonials we've also learnt that it's everything in-between that sets us apart. It's the everything in-between that makes our tours unforgettable.
We pride ourselves on our intimate knowledge of our breathtaking country - its roads less travelled and its authentic hospitality. Perhaps this is why BMW Motorrad International selected Karoo Biking as an official Travel Partner. Or perhaps, it's the professional service we deliver.
Let's ride!
|news archive
|avis rent a car
Copyright © 2002 - 2018 Karoo Biking S33° 56' 07.8'' E18° 28' 08.3''
BMW Motorcycle Tours and Rentals in South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho
Official Partner of BMW Motorrad since 2007
Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth
SA tel: +27 82 5 33 66 55 or email: email@example.com
UK tel: +44 20 7043 2400


text:
U.S. Department of the Interior
The U.S. Department of the Interior is committed to increasing the employment of Veterans within the Department"s workforce.
As outlined in the Department's Operational Plan for Veterans' Employment, we are committed to serving the Veteran community by promoting recruitment, employment, training/development, and utilization of special hiring authorities available for Veterans. The Office of Veterans Employment Programs is committed to providing resources and expertise that encourages the recruitment/hiring of Veterans into our workforce and prepares Veterans for careers within the Federal government.
The U.S. Department of the Interior's mission is to protect America's natural resources and heritage, honor our cultures and tribal communities, and supply the energy to power our futures.


text:
A lot of good that did us, huh?
Senior officials conducted secret discussions with North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Il, according to a Japanese newspaper.
Senior United States administration officials conducted secret discussions with North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Il, according to The Asahi Shimbun.
The report said U.S. military planes shuttled between Guam and Pyongyang on April 7, 2012, and then again from Aug. 18 through Aug. 20 last year. The purpose of the meeting with North Korean officials was to discuss policies in the leadership transition, according to the Japanese daily.
The Shimbun said it believed those aboard the aircraft included: Sydney Seiler, director of Korea at the U.S. National Security Council; and Joseph DeTrani, who formerly led the North Korea department at the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The U.S. did not keep Japan abreast of the talks, "Although the visits had potential implications for Japan," the newspaper said.
State Department officials told Japan's Foreign Ministry to stop asking about the meetings, saying such inquiries "would harm bilateral relations" between the U.S. and Japan, according to the Shimbun.